Uzbekistan enacts Constitutional Law establishing Tashkent International Financial Centre

15 July 2026

On 13 July 2026, Uzbekistan's parliament adopted and the President signed the Constitutional Law on the Tashkent International Financial Centre, establishing a new special legal regime territory in Tashkent. The Centre operates under its own governance structure, applies English common law as a primary legal source, and introduces a dedicated regulatory and judicial framework separate from Uzbekistan's general legal system. The law enters into force ten days after official publication and amends more than forty existing legislative acts to accommodate the Centre's special status.

What the Centre is and what it aims to achieve

The Tashkent International Financial Centre is defined as a designated territory with a special legal regime whose initial boundaries are set by Presidential Decree. Once established, the territory cannot be reduced, though it may be expanded. The Centre's stated purpose is to become a leading international financial centre contributing to Uzbekistan's economic diversification, attracting domestic and foreign investment into national strategic projects, infrastructure, energy and public-private partnerships, and developing capital markets and their integration with international markets.

The Centre is governed by the principles of efficiency, transparency, integrity and professional competence, with legal certainty, regulatory predictability and judicial independence identified as foundational elements.

Governance structure

Four organs govern the Centre.

The Council of the Financial Centre is the supreme strategic body. The President of Uzbekistan chairs it by virtue of office and appoints its members. At least one third of members must be independent international experts in finance or commercial law with no current or past positions in the Uzbek government. Members serve five-year renewable terms and may only be removed for cause by majority vote of other members. The Council sets overall strategy, approves annual budgets and appoints a Secretary-General who serves as the Centre's Governor.

The Administration of the Financial Centre is the main executive and administrative body, responsible for day-to-day operations, infrastructure, promotion and investor services. It is a legal entity with financial and administrative independence and may establish reserve funds from its resources.

The Financial Services Authority is the Centre's financial regulator, responsible for licensing, regulation, supervision and enforcement across all regulated financial services and ancillary activities. It operates with full independence in its regulatory, supervisory and licensing functions and its executive director is appointed for a five-year renewable term and may only be removed for cause. The Authority may establish a regulatory sandbox for fintech, digital assets and other innovative financial services.

The Tashkent International Commercial Court is the Centre's judicial body, exercising full judicial authority independently. It comprises two instances, a first instance court and an appellate court. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Council. Judges may be nationals of any state and serve under the same independence guarantees as Uzbek national judges. All judgments are issued in the name of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are binding throughout Uzbekistan and are enforced by national enforcement authorities on the same basis as national court decisions. Appellate decisions are final and not subject to further appeal.

Applicable law

The Centre operates under a defined hierarchy of legal sources. The Constitution of Uzbekistan and the Constitutional Law take precedence. Below them sit Presidential decrees on matters directly related to the Centre's establishment and governance, then the Centre's own binding decisions, and then, where not inconsistent with the above, English common law and equity principles. The Council adopts a specific decision identifying which English legislative acts apply, at what date and with what modifications.

Uzbekistan's national legislation applies only to matters outside the Centre's jurisdiction or where the Constitutional Law or Centre decisions explicitly provide for its application. Centre decisions take precedence over any conflicting national regulatory instruments within the territory, with the exception of the Constitution, the Constitutional Law itself and ratified international treaties.

Permitted financial activities

Participants licensed by the Financial Services Authority may conduct a comprehensive range of regulated financial services, including banking and financing, investment activities, deposit taking, trading in financial instruments and currencies, market-making, money transfers and payment services, Islamic finance, investment fund management, project finance, securities and derivatives issuance and trading, insurance and reinsurance, financial advisory, crowdfunding platforms, and any additional services designated by the Centre.

Subject to Financial Services Authority approval, participants may also conduct financial market infrastructure activities including custodial, clearing, settlement and depository services, exchange and trading platform operations, and alternative trading systems.

Digital asset activities permitted subject to approval include issuance, trading and market-making in digital assets and related derivatives, custody and asset management services for digital assets, and digital asset exchange operation.

Ancillary services include audit, legal, rating, accounting and information services, commodity and logistics services linked to regulated trading activities, and other activities designated as ancillary by the Centre.

Non-regulated permitted activities include holding companies, special purpose vehicles, treasury companies, trust and fiduciary structures, corporate services, professional services including legal, consulting, tax advisory and technology development, representative offices, and retail, hospitality and other amenity services supporting the Centre ecosystem.

Asset protection and investment guarantees

Funds, assets, property and rights of Centre organs, participants, employees, investment tax residents and their family members located in or formed under Centre decisions may not be confiscated, nationalised, expropriated, sequestered, frozen or otherwise restricted in ownership or disposal, except under final enforceable orders of the Tashkent International Commercial Court or under applicable anti-money laundering, sanctions, insolvency or criminal proceeds legislation. These protections cannot be reduced or limited by any instrument of a state body outside the Centre territory.

Tax and customs regime

The tax and customs exemption regime is one of the most commercially significant elements of the law. All exemptions run until 1 January 2076.

Centre organs and wholly owned subsidiaries are exempt from corporate profit tax and social tax for the full period. Qualified participants, defined as those with sufficient economic substance in the Centre, generating income from financial services provided or exported from the Centre, and meeting additional requirements set jointly by the Centre and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, are similarly exempt from corporate profit tax and social tax on qualifying financial services income. Ancillary services income also benefits from exemption where Centre conditions are met.

Foreign employees of Centre participants and organs are exempt from personal income tax on income from Centre activities, with the exemption applying only to remuneration paid by Centre participants or organs. Uzbek residents employed by the Centre may be granted a preferential personal income tax rate.

Capital gains, dividends and interest on securities listed on the Centre's exchange are exempt from personal income and corporate profit tax. Dividends from Centre participant shares are exempt. Investment tax residents benefit from exemption on income from sources outside Uzbekistan, subject to payment of a mandatory fee and minimum residency conditions.

Importantly, multinational enterprise groups with consolidated annual revenue of 750 million euros or more in at least two of the four preceding financial years are excluded from these exemptions and instead pay a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax at the standard Uzbek corporate profit tax rate, in line with Pillar Two global minimum tax rules.

Real property owned by or used by Centre organs and participants is exempt from property tax and land tax. Centre participant services are exempt from VAT. Goods imported by Centre organs and participants for use within the territory are exempt from customs duties and fees until 2076, with duties applying if goods are taken outside the territory, alienated or transferred.

The scope of these exemptions may not be reduced without the consent of the Centre Council.

Currency regime

Monetary obligations between Centre participants may be denominated and settled in agreed foreign currencies or, where permitted, in digital assets. General Uzbek currency legislation on registration, reporting of capital movements and foreign bank accounts does not apply to currency operations conducted by Centre participants within their jurisdiction. A simplified reporting and information exchange mechanism will be established jointly with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan to ensure necessary data for balance of payments, financial stability and anti-money laundering monitoring. Participants, foreign employees, investment tax residents and family members benefit from free capital repatriation and currency conversion.

Investment tax residency programme

The Centre introduces an investment tax residency programme for individuals who invest in Uzbekistan in forms, amounts and instruments specified by the Council. Applicants must not have been Uzbek tax residents in the three years preceding application and must not have renounced Uzbek citizenship in the preceding ten years. Investment tax residents are recognised as Uzbek tax residents for the purpose of applying the personal income tax exemptions described above, including on foreign source income. They also gain access to the Centre's visa regime and the Tashkent International Commercial Court for wills and succession matters.

The Tashkent International Commercial Court

The Court holds exclusive jurisdiction over civil and employment disputes between Centre persons, disputes arising from activities conducted in or regulated by the Centre, insolvency and bankruptcy cases involving Centre participants and residents, disputes referred by agreement of the parties, all international arbitration matters where the seat is the Centre or the arbitration is administered by the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre with parties agreeing to the Court's supervisory jurisdiction, disputes arising from Centre or Digital Technologies International Centre decisions, and other civil and commercial disputes assigned by law.

The Court may apply interim measures including asset freezing, injunctions, search and disclosure orders, and other protective measures. It may recognise and enforce foreign arbitral awards regardless of jurisdiction of origin. The Court maintains a wills and succession registry for Centre persons where specified. All Court decisions are published on its website within thirty days of issuance. Commercial confidentiality redactions are permitted only to the minimum extent necessary and may not extend to legal reasoning or operative provisions.

The Court operates in English. Proceedings are conducted in English, with translations available on request.

Visa and employment regime

Foreign nationals coming to the Centre may obtain entry visas at Uzbek embassies or on arrival at international airports. Centre persons may obtain visas for up to five years. Centre participants and organs may engage qualified foreign nationals without obtaining standard Uzbek work permits. Qualification requirements and quotas are set by the Centre Administration. The Administration maintains records of foreign employees and shares information with the relevant migration authority.

What this means for your business

The Tashkent International Financial Centre represents the most significant structural development in Uzbekistan's financial and investment landscape since the liberalisation reforms of 2017. It is designed to attract international financial institutions, investment managers, fintech companies, Islamic finance providers, digital asset platforms and professional services firms seeking a base for regional operations.

The combination of English common law as primary applicable law, an independent international commercial court with final binding jurisdiction, a fifty-year tax exemption runway, free capital repatriation, and a broad licence menu covering virtually all recognised financial services makes the Centre genuinely competitive with established regional financial centres.

The key practical questions for interested firms now are the timeline to activation, the content of the Centre's initial decisions covering licensing requirements, substance conditions and the specific English legislative acts to be applied, and the appointment and calibration of the Financial Services Authority and the Tashkent International Commercial Court. The Constitutional Law requires these foundational decisions to be adopted within twelve months of entry into force, with the Council able to extend by a further six months. Activation formally occurs only once the Council declares the Centre ready and the President approves that declaration.

Companies considering the Centre should begin preliminary assessments now, monitor the adoption of foundational decisions closely, and plan for meaningful engagement once the licensing framework is published.